สงสาร

Explanation

สงสาร is a common everyday verb. It is normally followed by the person or animal receiving the speaker's pity: ฉันสงสารเขา means “I feel sorry for him.” The object may be omitted when it is already clear from context, as in สงสารจัง. The word describes an emotional response to suffering or misfortune. It can suggest compassion or a desire to help, but it does not itself mean that any help is actually given. น่าสงสาร describes someone or something as pitiful or deserving sympathy. สงสาร instead expresses what a person feels toward that individual or situation. Dictionaries may also list an identically spelled literary or religious noun, but that meaning is not relevant to ordinary modern conversation.

Usage

It is commonly used when talking about someone facing illness, injury, poverty, failure, loss, or another hardship. It is also natural when reacting to an injured animal or sympathizing with someone in a story or news report. In expressions such as สงสารฉันหน่อย, it can be used to ask another person to show mercy or sympathy.

Caution

When said directly to someone, สงสาร can sometimes sound patronizing because it presents that person as helpless or unfortunate. If you want to emphasize respectful understanding rather than pity, เห็นใจ or เห็นอกเห็นใจ may be more appropriate.

1 feel sorry for synonyms

• เห็นอกเห็นใจ

  เห็นอกเห็นใจ emphasizes deep sympathy and understanding from the other person's point of view. สงสาร focuses more on feeling sorry for someone in distress or an unfortunate position.

• เห็นใจ

  เห็นใจ emphasizes understanding and being considerate of another person's feelings or circumstances. สงสาร more directly expresses feeling sorry for someone because they are suffering or unfortunate.